When I dance they call me macarena and the boys they say that I'm buena they all want me, they can't have me So they all come and dance beside me move with me jam with me and if your good i take you home with me

From a religious point of view, many critics, citing Dan Brown's own comments in various media interviews, claim that the book is a deliberate attempt to undermine Christianity in favour of a feminist/pagan agenda, and decry the many negative implications about the Roman Catholic Church and Opus Dei.

As early as August 1912, Jung had intimated a letter to Freud that he had an intuition that the essentially feminine-tones archaic wisdom of the Gnostics, symbolically called Sophia, was destined to re-enter modern Western culture by way of depth psychology. This takes us to the Gnostic text the Pistis Sophia. Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text. The five remaining copies, which scholars date c. 250­-300 AD, relate the Gnostic teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples (including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha), when the risen Christ had accomplished 11 years speaking with his disciples. In it the complex structures and hierarchies of heaven familiar in Gnostic teachings are revealed. The female divinity of gnosticism is Sophia, a being with many aspects and names. She is sometimes identified with the Holy Ghost itself but, according to her various capacities, is also the Universal Mother, the Mother of the Living or Resplendent Mother, the Power on High, She-of-the-left-hand (as opposed to Christ, understood as her husband and he of the Right Hand), as the Luxurious One, the Womb, the Virgin, the Wife of the Male, the Revealer of Perfect Mysteries, the Saint Columba of the Spirit, the Heavenly Mother, the Wandering One, or Elena (that is, Selene, the Moon). She was envisaged as the Psyche of the world and the female aspect of Logos.

The title Pistis Sophia is obscure, and is sometimes translated Faith wisdom or Wisdom in faith or Faith in wisdom. A more accurate translation taking into account its gnostic context, is the faith of Sophia, as Sophia to the gnostics was a divine syzygy of Christ, rather than simply a word meaning wisdom. In an earlier, simpler version of a Sophia, in the Berlin Codex and also found in a papyrus at Nag Hammadi, the transfigured Christ explains Pistis in a rather obscure manner:

Quote

Again, his disciples said: Tell us clearly how they came down from the invisibilities, from the immortal to the world that dies? The perfect Saviour said, "Son of Man consented with Sophia, his consort, and revealed a great androgynous light. Its male name is designated 'Saviour, begetter of all things'. Its female name is designated 'All-begettress Sophia'. Some call her 'Pistis'."

The best-known of the 5 manuscripts of Pistis Sophia is bound with another Gnostic text titled on the binding "Piste Sophiea Cotice". This "Askew Codex" was purchased by the British Museum in 1795 from a Dr. Anthony Askew. Until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945, the Askew Codex was 1 of 3 codices that contained almost all of the gnostic writings that had survived the suppression of such literature both in East and West, the other 2 codices being the Bruce Codex and the Berlin Codex. Aside from these sources, everything written about Gnosticism before World War II is based on quotes, references and inferences in the Patristic writings of the enemies of Gnosticism, a less-than-neutral source, where Gnostic beliefs were selected to present their absurdities, bizarre and unethical behavior, and heresy from the orthodox Pauline Christian standpoint. The text proclaims that Jesus remained on earth after the resurrection for 11 years, and was able in this time to teach his disciples up to the first (i.e. beginner) level of the mystery. It starts with an allegory paralleling the death and resurrection of Jesus, and describing the descent and ascent of the soul. After that it proceeds to describe important figures within the gnostic cosmology, and then finally lists 32 carnal desires to overcome before salvation is possible, overcoming all 32 constituting salvation. Pistis Sophia includes quotes from five of the Odes of Solomon, found in chapters between 58 and 71. Pistis Sophia was the only known source for the actual wording of any of the Odes until the discovery of a nearly-complete Syriac text of the Odes in 1909. Because the first part of this text is missing, Pistis Sophia is still the only source for Ode 1.

It is clear that Jung was seeing and defining what we call the Return of (to) the Feminine Energies or higher frequency of thought consciousness. Jung also channeled feminine archetypes including Salome.

There has recently been a tremendous amount of excitement around the symmetry and geometry that is contained in DaVinci's drawing called "Proportions of the Human Figure." The popular novel, "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown tells of how there is a six-pointed star hidden within the drawing. One idea around the six-pointed star is that the 2 intersecting triangles represent a symmetrical union of male (yang) and female (yin). This is particularly interesting since the greater human condition seems to be out of balance, with a preponderance of yang, or masculine energy.

So the idea of a coming together in balance and harmony would be fantastic. There is a lot of information that suggests that the world is about to enter into a new feminine era. There are ideas of a major shift for mankind elucidated in many traditions. Hindu tradition speaks of a transition from a previous age to the age of Kali. Kali represents the feminine destroyer. Kali also represents the vindication of truth over lies. The Mayan calendar is coming up on its completion. The Mayans also believed in a shift for mankind. In many ways we sit on a precipice where lies and manipulation by governments, religion and the media literally control our lives. We have world leaders who are engaged in wars and the slaughter of 100's of thousands of innocents. It is tempting to believe that a secret and sacred geometry lies within our own physical bodies. Even so, I have always been somewhat skeptical about secret codes. There have been a number of attempts to uncover a perfect symmetry within DaVinci's work. I have seen some constructions within the drawing that have been made by others, towards the end of espousing certain conclusions. For example, some think that the star represents something called the Merkaba. The Merkaba is a star tetrahedron which represents the human energy field (or light body). This is just one example. I wanted to see how they did it... how they came to their conclusions. So I worked on it myself, using information about the drawing that I had researched. I discovered that some of the conclusions that others made seemed to be somewhat arbitrary. I could not understand how they got from A to B, and they seemed to ignore subtle clues in DaVinci's drawing.

So what is the DaVinci code? What is the hidden information within the sketch? The real starting point with DaVinci's "Proportions of the Human Figure" is in the work of an ancient by the name of Vitruvius who was an architect. Vitruvius developed the concept of 'squaring the circle' which basically involves constructing a square with an equal surface area to a circle or visa-versa. DaVinci was fascinated by the ideas that Vitruvius had about squaring the circle. DaVinci's drawing contains both a square and a circle with unequal surface areas. There are clues within the drawing that can be used to 'square the circle' and 'circle the square'. This is the starting point. This construction, which can be accomplished without any measuring device, is called the Vitruvian Man. I did exactly that myself, and discovered some remarkable symmetries in DaVinci's drawing. In fact, I constructed the geometry with only a protractor and a straight edge. But upon completion I wanted to check the surface areas of the circles and the squares to discover if Vitruvius was correct. First have a look at the drawing that I did, along with notes in the margin about the utterly fantastic symmetries it contains.

Click on the image below to launch a slideshow explaining the concepts here. Once in the slideshow, you can hover over the right side of the image and click to navigate to the next image.

Now, while I was able to make the above drawing with only a protractor and a straight edge; I still wanted to check to see if Vitruvius was correct in his squaring the circle thing. Following are the measurements I took off the original drawing that I did. (the image above is slightly reduced in size however)

Drawing MeasurementsDaVinci Circle Radius is 3.33" (the largest circle)DaVinci Square Side is 5.51"Blue Circle Radius is 3.105" (supposed to be the same area as DaVinci's square)Black Square Side is 5.90" (supposed to be the same area as DaVinci's circle)

Following are the calculations that I made from my measurements:DaVinci Circle Surface Area is 3.33 x = 34.84Black Square Surface Area is 5.90 x 5.90 = 34.81

The surface area of the square that I constructed is nearly the same as DaVinci's circle (only off by 3/100's of a square inch!). And the surface area of the circle that I constructed was very nearly the same as DaVinci's square. How cool is that! Now on to the next bit. I had some time ago seen another representation of proportions of the Earth and Moon in this drawing. But again, the work was arbitrary as if the author was trying to prove a point, rather than to let the geometry reveal itself. Personally, I had a suspicion that the earth/moon proportion indeed was in the drawing. If you look at the distance from the top of the head to the arc of the blue circle (this was the Vitruvius construction) and use that distance as a radius, you can draw a circle around the head. Another circle can then be constructed that is the exact height of the man, with the center being exactly at the groin. (Notice the faint line DaVinci has at the groin … this is one of the clues.) Again, I wanted to check to see if the small red circle and the large red circle were in the same proportion as the moon and the Earth. Following are the measurements of those two circles.

Finally, I wanted to mention the astrological event of November 9, 2003 called the Harmonic Concordance. There was an amazing synchronicity for me, because I was working on writing this article during the week just prior to November 9th. The Harmonic Concordance as I understand it, is a very symmetrical pattern called the Grand Sextile which forms a 'Star of David' in the pattern of the Sun, Moon and planets. This is a very rare occurrence, and what makes it even stranger is that it was accompanied by a full Lunar eclipse. I am not an astrologer, so I can't really interpret what this all means, but I was able to obtain an astrological chart, because I wanted to check for the 'Star of David', as I had heard that it was in there. So we've got a full Lunar eclipse and a very rare astrological aspect that coincide on November 9, 2003. Here is the chart:

The symmetry and synchronicity of this is amazing. "As above, so below" takes on real meaning when you think of the Star of David revealed by DaVinci and in the sky on November 9th. The drawing contains much, much more hidden information. Notice some of the other clues (more faint lines at the elbows; at the shoulders).

The theory publicized in 1997 in the pseudohistorical book The Templar Revelation by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, that the person to the left of Jesus (to his right) is actually Mary Magdalene, rather than the apostle John (as most art historians identify the figure). This theory was central to Dan Brown's popular 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. In the novel, it is said that John/Mary Magdalene has a womanly bosom, feminine facial features, and is swaying gracefully toward Peter. Peter appears to be making a threatening gesture across John/Mary's throat. The author uses this theory to advance his view that Leonardo da Vinci was once the head of a secret society, the Priory of Sion, which protects the secret of Jesus' royal bloodline, and the location of his modern descendants.

The fact is, however, that while damage makes it impossible to be sure of the figure's gender, it appears to be wearing male clothing. Although Mary could have been wearing male clothes, it is not highly probable. There are only 13 figures in the painting, so if one is Mary Magdalene, an apostle is missing: somebody would have noted a missing male apostle earlier. Some have suggested that on the front of the figure of Simon Peter there is one hand with a dagger which is associated to nobody in the picture, but in clearer reproductions this is seen to be Peter's right hand, resting against his hip with the palm turned outward; the knife points towards Bartholomew (far left) who was to be executed by being flayed. It may also indicate Peter's impulsive nature, as he cuts off a soldier's ear in John 18:10. A detailed preliminary drawing of the arm exists. Other paintings from that period (Castagno's 1447 and Ghirlandaio's 1480) also show John to be a very boyish or feminine looking figure with long fair hair. This was because John was supposed to have been the youngest and most unquestioningly devoted of the apostles. Hence he is often shown asleep against Jesus's shoulder. It was common in the period to show neophytes as very young or even feminine figures, as a way of showing their inferior position. This tradition continued well after the period, as the 19th century sculpture in Drogheda Cathedral, Ireland demonstrates. Not to mention that Leonardo also portrayed a male saint with similar effeminate features in his painting St. John the Baptist.

There is a lot of information that suggests that the world is about to enter into a new feminine era. There are ideas of a major shift for mankind elucidated in many traditions. Hindu tradition speaks of a transition from a previous age to the age of Kali. Kali represents the feminine destroyer. Kali also represents the vindication of truth over lies. The Mayan calendar is coming up on its completion. The Mayans also believed in a shift for mankind. In many ways we sit on a precipice where lies and manipulation by governments, religion and the media literally control our lives.

Is it not that these arguments make people in actuality adhere even more to the masculine principle, despite appearing to do just the opposite?

Alfred Hrdlicka's etching of an orgy at the Last Supper has provoked strong criticism in Austria

Not that I'd not pay attention to the subject of the thread (copyright issues are way too important to overlook after all) but your usename caught my attention -- does it mean Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, per chance? I became curious as I've come across the acronym when I was reading the label of a drug my grandpa uses, I believe it's called enalapril or smth like that.. anyway, I remember it very well, cuz my grandpa was given the drug even though it was absolutely contraindicated in patients with renal artery stenosis like him. He ended up in emergency room because of the deterioration in renal function that developed because of the ACEI therapy initiated (we did not press charges against the doctor treating him, his hospital settled in advance).

[...] anyway, I remember it very well, cuz my grandpa was given the drug even though it was absolutely contraindicated [...]

Absolutely.. hmmm, it's true it's counterindicated, though... for instance, if you'd ask any cardiologist before 1990s about β-blockers being used in heart failure, they'd tell you they're counterindicated as they have the potential to worsen the condition. Yet, studies in the late 1990s showed their positive effects on morbidity and mortality in congestive heart failure patients. It may seem counterintuitive to administer drugs with negative inotropic activity to a patient with HF, but several clinical studies have clearly demonstrated improved systolic functioning and reverse remodeling in patients receiving β-blockers. These benefits arise in spite of occasional initial exacerbation of symptoms. The benefit of β-blockers is attributed, in part, to their ability to prevent the changes that occur because of the chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system, including decreasing the heart rate and inhibiting the release of the renin.

Two β-blockers have been approved for use in HF: Carvedilol and long-acting Metoprolol. The first is a non-selective β-adrenoreceptor antagonist that also blocks α-adrenoreceptors, whereas the second is a β1-selective antagonist. β-Blockade is recommended for all patients with heart disease except those who are at high risk but have no symptoms or those who are in the acute phase of HF.